The second month of pregnancy is considered one of the most crucial, since during this period the laying and formation of almost all internal organs of the fetus begin. The health of your baby depends on how accurately this process goes. Smoking, drinking alcohol, poisoning with toxic substances, in other words, any adverse effect can disrupt organogenesis and lead to the formation of malformations of internal organs, often incompatible with life.
In the second month of pregnancy, the child's nervous system continues to form. It is no longer just a tube: in the region of its head end, three noticeable extensions, called brain bubbles, appear. After some time, these expansions turn into five bubbles and give rise to five different parts of the brain. In parallel, the peripheral nervous system also develops. This process begins with the spinal cord, where already at this time it is possible to detect various elements of the reflex arc.
At 4-5 weeks of pregnancy, your baby's pituitary gland is laid - the central hormonal gland located in the brain and controlling the entire endocrine system. The thyroid and parathyroid glands are formed from the tissues of the pharynx at 4-5 weeks of embryogenesis. The adrenal glands are laid at 5-7 weeks from the nervous tissue and epithelium, which subsequently covers all the internal organs of the abdominal cavity.
Already at this stage of development, the stomach is formed in your crumbs, and all its anatomical sections, the liver is formed. At 5-7 weeks, it is already possible to detect the small and large intestines, the rectum. The intestinal tube gives rise to all these organs. From it, which may seem a little strange, the respiratory system also develops. Initially, a protrusion forms below the pharyngeal part of this tube, then it is separated from the esophagus and divided into two independent parts, which in the future will become the lungs of the baby.
The main excretory organ at this stage of intrauterine development of the child is the primary kidney. This is not at all the kidney that we know about, and its period of existence is very short - having appeared in the 4th week, it disappears by the end of the eighth. The laying of the main kidneys known to us occurs at the end of the second month of embryo development and ends only with the birth of the baby. However, the primary kidney does not disappear without a trace. From it, or rather from the genital roller located on it, the sex glands of the child are formed - in boys, the testes, and in girls, the ovaries.
In the second month of pregnancy, the fetus is still connected to the mother's body through the chorion. However, if earlier this shell was continuous and enveloped the embryo from all sides, now the part of it, opposite to the place of attachment to the uterus, begins to thin out. In a month, it will turn into a thin petal - one of the fetal membranes. The remaining part of the chorion, embedded in the mucous membrane of the uterine wall, on the contrary, will grow and later become part of the organ common to the mother and child - the placenta.
In addition to the chorion, another fetal membrane undergoes changes - the amnion, which secretes amniotic fluid, which is the habitat of your baby while he is inside your body. The comfort of the existence of the child and his health depend on how healthy this environment will be. As pregnancy progresses, the amount of amniotic fluid increases, and this process begins precisely from the second month of pregnancy.